As Elnoa said, they kind of already ARE accepted/considered part of the community.

And gender and sexual orientation don't have to do with one another, but they do, which is precisely why being gay, lesbian or bisexual "matters."

The same questions come up for people who are attracted to the same sex. Especially the ones who possess qualities typically associated with the opposite sex, be it a particularly masculine woman or femme guy, whether they *wish* they were of the opposite sex. Does a woman wear a strap on because she wants to be a man? Well, no, not usually, but you can see where people unfamiliar can get confused.

Trans people are basically the opposite, except not really, as you can be a straight, gay, les, or bi trans person.

Which is where the "queer" comes in, welcoming basically anyone with quirky shit going on identity one way or another.

Considering that it was really non-gender binary people who actually took to the streets and fought the police during the Stonewall riots and started the entire queer rights movement in the first place, yes. Trans* people are, and should be, part of the queer community. Of course there's political discourse and not everyone agrees about it even inside of the LGBT community. It won't happen overnight, it's going to take time, but the community needs to band together now more than ever to take down orgs like NOM and the HRC and actually work toward equality for all instead of specific subsections of the community.

Considering that it was really non-gender binary people who actually took to the streets and fought the police during the Stonewall riots and started the entire queer rights movement in the first place, yes. Trans* people are, and should be, part of
...

Considering that it was really non-gender binary people who actually took to the streets and fought the police during the Stonewall riots and started the entire queer rights movement in the first place, yes. Trans* people are, and should be, part of the queer community. Of course there's political discourse and not everyone agrees about it even inside of the LGBT community. It won't happen overnight, it's going to take time, but the community needs to band together now more than ever to take down orgs like NOM and the HRC and actually work toward equality for all instead of specific subsections of the community.

Yes, at least until we no longer have to fight for equal rights. Trans may not be a sexuality like gay, straight, or bi, (or poly, or pan, or on and on), but being a non-normative minority with regards to sex and gender, it's still an appropriate umbrella.

Considering that it was really non-gender binary people who actually took to the streets and fought the police during the Stonewall riots and started the entire queer rights movement in the first place, yes. Trans* people are, and should be, part of
...

Considering that it was really non-gender binary people who actually took to the streets and fought the police during the Stonewall riots and started the entire queer rights movement in the first place, yes. Trans* people are, and should be, part of the queer community. Of course there's political discourse and not everyone agrees about it even inside of the LGBT community. It won't happen overnight, it's going to take time, but the community needs to band together now more than ever to take down orgs like NOM and the HRC and actually work toward equality for all instead of specific subsections of the community.

I think trans* people should be included, but there is definitely still a barrier that a lot of LGBQ people are putting up. Most of the hate that I've received for being trans* is from my LGBQ acquaintances. Ideally there would be just a queer community that would include all types of homosexuality and gender identity.

The truth is that none of the parts of the LGBT umbrella really have any connexion to each other, other than in those initials.

In a simplistic sense one might want to group gay men and lesbians together as being "homosexuals", but homosexual is only really a useful term when trying to segregate people from the mainstream heterosexuality.

In reality gay men are androphiles - men who like men, and lesbians are gynaephiles - women who like women. Neither have anything in common in terms of their gender nor the sex they are attracted to.

The reason gay men and lesbians come together under one umbrella, and indeed bisexuals, and transgendered people, is that it helps to have strength in numbers, and make a co-ordinated effort when fighting discrimination.

For now the grouping makes sense, but if true equality is ever achieved, both at a political level and beyond, I dare say the association will disintegrate completely.

Everyone should be accepted in the "I'm human" category. Why does there have to be a straight community and and a GLBTQ community? Can't we all just decide to lump ourselves together and go about our lives? For me, and I'm sure a bunch of others, it would make things a whole heck of a lot better.

I always thought that was the whole point of being 'queer'--it doesn't have the same boxes LGBT does. I'm trans and I live almost full time in the queer community. To me it feels like a culture more than anything else. I'm culturally queer.

It's not just about oppression and who you're fucking. When I go to queer events, they're throwing gay shame parties. When I go to Pride, I see the LGBT crowd. Poly life is more common in the queer circles I frequent, and there tends to be a specific political mindset. Maybe the distinction is only in my head, but maybe it's one others feel as well.

04/21/2012

Ivnas

To a lot of people, "queer" simply means someone who's not heterosexual and cisexual. JUST SO YOU KNOW.

If you're really asking if trans people should be included in the LGBTetc. banner...then honestly, no. As you said, the two have nothing to do with each other. I see how marginalized groups might want to group together for activism purposes, but I've actually heard of a lot of issues between gay and trans people BECAUSE sexual orientation and gender identity aren't at all the same.

As Elnoa said, they kind of already ARE accepted/considered part of the community.

And gender and sexual orientation don't have to do with one another, but they do, which is precisely why being gay, lesbian or bisexual
...

As Elnoa said, they kind of already ARE accepted/considered part of the community.

And gender and sexual orientation don't have to do with one another, but they do, which is precisely why being gay, lesbian or bisexual "matters."

The same questions come up for people who are attracted to the same sex. Especially the ones who possess qualities typically associated with the opposite sex, be it a particularly masculine woman or femme guy, whether they *wish* they were of the opposite sex. Does a woman wear a strap on because she wants to be a man? Well, no, not usually, but you can see where people unfamiliar can get confused.

Trans people are basically the opposite, except not really, as you can be a straight, gay, les, or bi trans person.

Which is where the "queer" comes in, welcoming basically anyone with quirky shit going on identity one way or another.

I LOVE this explanation! Thank you! I knew that transgendered people can be L, G, or B, so I was a little unsure, but after reading this, I now know what that Q is for! Very illuminating!

Still not sure how to answer the question though! I've been reading a bit about transgendered people and they really go through a lot of emotional turmoil! Since I'm cis, I've never experienced any of it, but my heart goes out to those that struggle!

I think the main thing is for T-people to find friends that are unconditionally supportive and loving, queer or not.